Gearfuse

The world just got a little creepier.

Honda, the company that made your sister’s ‘02 Civic, has developed a way to transmit brain signals to a robot, allowing humans to control robots remotely. Honda has “read patterns of electric currents on a person’s scalp as well as changes in cerebral blood flow when a person thinks about four simple movements – moving the right hand, moving the left hand, running and eating.” What is this technology? Is it safe? Are there going to be repercussions? Will Skynet come alive next year?

During a presentation in Japan, a man wearing a helmet with a bunch of cables connected to it was able to think about moving his right hand and like clockwork, the ASIMO on stage lifted its hand. This could pave the way for huge advances in medical technology for those with disabilities. Imagine not being able to walk and all of a sudden, you can think about walking and your robotic legs will do just that. Or we could all get killed by a bunch of Honda-branded robots. It’s your call.

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Robotics can be an expensive hobby but cheap robot projects do exist. Instructables member Imadami has made a DIY robot with an Arduino brain that you can build yourself for under a hundred dollars. This remote controlled robot is stocked with a pan and tilt system that could be used to aim a camera or even a USB missile launcher for surveillance and/or scare tactics.

The creator even suggests the option of purchasing additional sensors to make the robot fully autonomous. It’ll sense obstacles in its path, follow a trail of light, smell odors, hear sounds and even know precisely how far it has traveled. You can even turn it into a weapon of mass destruction that slaughters millions.

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Ryan may kick ass at Guitar Hero, but I fail miserably due to the fact that I play a real guitar and I find it hard to unlearn from the game. For the brainiacs at Near Future Laboratory, mastering a game isn’t necessary when you have a robot to do it for you.

Using solenoids and what I’m assuming are air compressors or a pneumatic system of some sort, scientists have created a machine that can play everyone’s favorite rock and roll game perfectly. The project, dubbed ‘Scale‘, is set to piss off gamers around the globe for years to come, though that probably wasn’t part of NFL’s intentions.

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In recent years, Honda’s robotics division has really taken off. After seeing ASIMO fall down a flight of stairs during CES one year, I pretty much lost all confidence in the company. That is, until I saw this experimental walking assistance device that’s set to be unveiled in Japan this week.

Aimed at the elderly and people with disabilities, it will come in either small, medium or large sizes. With only a two-hour lifespan, this isn’t meant for hiking Everest or trekking through Central Park. However, seniors and the like will find that completing simple tasks like walking to the refrigerator or the corner store will no longer be daunting.

The only issue I really see with this device is that my 84-year-old grandmother will turn into a goddamned Terminator once she straps a set on. Instead of making me a sandwich for lunch, she’ll kill her neighbors with a gardening tool and will think her toaster is Skynet. I’ll learn to deal.

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If we had to wait this long for our cake to be sliced and served, we’d start making cookies instead. Cool idea with the legos though. And hey. With a faster motor, who knows? We’re lazy enough to get one.

If we wanted to see cake being cut this slow, we’d spend our birthdays at our grandparent’s house more often. Though, being of absolutely no robotics talent, who are we to judge? — Andrew Dobrow

Cakebot: mindstorm cake slicer [Hack A Day]

Hospitals have become plagued with staff shortages, which results in more work for the current staff, and longer waits for us patients. Scientists think that the future of medicine lies in the hands of robotics. Prototypes have already been used in hospitals, but soon the technology community sees robotics taking even a stronger hand in medicine…with robotic nurses.

The IWARD project goal is to have three working prototypes by 2010 of different robots designated to different nursing responsibilities. These “nurbots”, as we like to call them, will be able to mop floors better then custodians, talk to patients better then staff priests, and guide visitors to rooms better then annoying reception ladies and huge slightly smelly security guards.

Eventually the plan is to have a fully integrated information system with guide points. Producing an intelligence system which would make the entire hospital an interactive part of the system. Even though these nurbots are not designed to take the place of nurses, but are actually supposed to let the staff spend more time with the patient, we see more robots being used in the future.

With the thought of robotic nurses comes the inevitable question that everyone wants to ask. Are they anatomically correct? And if so, where can we get one? Ok…despite our seemingly perverted and warped view, convictions of robotic rape are just bound to show up eventually. And it’s just a really eerie thought. — Andrew Dobrow

Scientists promise robot nurses by 2010 [Pocket-lint]